The tower had four guards on the upper wall and two at the gate, which was fewer than Zekar had expected and enough to make him careful anyway. Caes had said twenty men. He counted eight. Either the captain had been generous with his estimate, or the others were sleeping below.
He preferred not to find out which.
Tarrek and Vel dealt with the wall guards before the rest of them reached the base. No sound, no light. They appeared at the top of the ridge and gestured once, and that was enough.
The gate was iron, old and slow on its hinges. Ryker eased it open while Zekar watched the courtyard. A single lantern hung above the well. The keep door stood ahead of them, thick oak, slightly ajar. Through the gap came the faint smell of tallow and old straw.
They went in.
The ground floor held a table, two benches, and one sleeping soldier whose breathing filled the room. Tarrek crossed to him without hesitation. Ryker moved past them both toward the stairs.
